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  Thu, 24 Jun 1999 15:40:30 -0500 Ruben J. Ciriacks COMMENTS:  In reply to your inquiry, the best place to find out more about me is on the web site itself.  Go to the following pages thereat:

some personal data & pictures

Cyriax page of website

You should check back into the Cyriax page every few months.  It'll contain the most accurate date regarding what I consider to be the oldest form of spelling the family name.  The entire Cyriac Family History Project web site has hundreds of pages, images and charts, so check it out to see the history of our name.  There's absolutely no doubt that Ciriacks, Cyriacks, Cyriax, Ciriack, Zirjacks, Ciriaco and numerous others are the same name.  The question is are we related to each other?  I think we all are and have been proving it for the past 30 years.

My method is to merely collect everything mentioning the name, including genealogical data with full names and dates, and then worry about tying it together at some later date.  The Cyriax members of the family have the most unconnected branches.  I was just working on them this morning and realized I'll have to freshen the way I've listed them on my computer in order to notice relationships much easier.  Yours is an entirely new branch, which won't be put on the tree until I have your grandfather's name.  Having the names of his children, including your father and mother will help but isn't necessary to connect him to his ancestry.

You are one of the few Cyriax with that form of the name left in the world, apparently.  It's about to die out completely in the USA.  My records show no 1883 birth but that isn't significant.  Send me the exact year, month, day and full names of both your grandfather and his wife, if you have them, and I'll keep track and make a note to let you know when we've tied them into another branch somewhere.

We don't publish information regarding individuals in the family born after 1900 on the web site (there are thousands) but do keep records so that individuals can know their own genealogy.

Over the past four decades, I've concentrated my research on the family history occurring before 1900, mostly the dead members and the appearance of the name, while my oldest brother Jack has been collecting histories and communicating with living members all over the world.  He just came back from Canada and is on his way to France to research the French (my mother's) Acadian side of our own family.  He's met many of the Cyriax in Germany, Britain and the USA but hasn't met any from South Africa so far as I can recall.

[ In the process of updating my files this morning, a task having been put off for the past two decades, I came across an article in one of our annual family newsletters that stated that one of the British Cyriax said my brother Jack looked just like her other relative, so our relationship is being proved all the time.  Those Cyriax, including the world renown Dr. James Cyriax of orthopedic fame, are all descended from ancestors from the Erfurt area of Germany.  While the name itself is Greek, our most recent orgins are in Germany. ]

Enough for now.  Visit the other pages of the site.  Check out what's there regarding the Cyriax and send me more information and questions.  I look forward to the feedback - especially regarding questions needing answers that can be placed on the web site itself.

  City, State, Country Email address URL to your web site How'd you find us? Surname spelling(s)

Wed, 23 Jun 1999 15:36:27

Dieter Cyriax

Namibia, Africa

Namibia

Email from Ben Ciriacks.

Cyriax

COMMENTS:  Hi Ruben,

I am currently trying to trace my family name CYRIAX.  Seeing that it is such an unusual name, it is also much more difficult to find some thing.  But let me tell you about myself.  My name is Dieter M. F. Cyriax born in 1953 in Swakopmund, Namibia (formally South West Africa).  I am of german origin and managed to go back only to my grand father who was born in 1883 in Weimar, Germany.  He then came to Namibia where he got married and started a family.  Since then our family lives in Namibia.  Please tell me more about yourself.  It will be nice hearing from you.

20 Sep 2001:  If anyone should visit Namibia, they are more than welcome to contact me.

Click Namibia to go to that page for more.

Wed, 03 Jun 1998 13:44:58 -0500 CDT

Ben Ciriacks (To:  Paul Ciriacks)

COMMENTS:  Thanks.  ... found Verano in a book about the Christian Cemeter(ies) of Rome.  It's apparently a public cemetery just across from the former Ciriaca and now Saint Lawrence Cemetery off the Tiburian Way in (eastern) Rome.  (The cartilio/cartilius is moot.  The inscription seems to only show 'CAR' an abbreviation for something as yet unfound in other inscriptions, so far. 
5/27/00 update:  Carissimo, dearest, appears to be a better translation for the CAR abbreviation than cartillo.)

  City, State, Country

Tue, 2 Jun 1998 13:49:03 -0700 (PDT)

Paul Ciriacks

Long Beach, CA

COMMENTS:  Hey Uncle Ben, ... "verano" in Spanish means "summer."  ... "cartilla" in Spanish means "notebook."  Paul

 

Sat, 23 May 1998 11:48:21

Ben Ciriacks (To:  John Ciriacks)

COMMENTS:  What with hundreds of hits, I've yet to see anything regarding the exact circumstances of Cyriacus death on August 8th, 304.  The attached file may have it.  Is your German exchange student still around?  If so, can you ask him to please translate and return same to me for inclusion in the web site?

We obviously need someone in the German branch of the family who can translate to do so on the dozens of web pages that are "GREEK" to me right now.

 

Wed, 20 May 1998 12:57:50

John Ciriacks (To:  Ben Ciriacks)

COMMENTS:  Also the Roman soldier Cyriacus who was slain in 304 with his 6 brothers sounds like a favorite song on our Christian radio station of "Forty Brave Soldiers for Christ."  They were put out on the ice in Turkey in the winter to freeze to death since they would not sacrifice to the Emperor.

 

Mon, 18 May 1998 12:09:56

Ben Ciriacks (To: John Ciriacks)

COMMENTS:  The challenge will be for individuals to find information that's not already contained at the web site regarding Cyriacus.  HINT: When searching, use the "riac" portion of the name as the only unique portion common to various languages, countries, etc.  If possible, eliminate Syriac from the search process to minimize the hits found.

I found over a 1000 hits on Cyriac or some derivation thereof (can't remember, now) and only looked at around 300 of them, so there is some stuff out there, especially in the Middle ages forward to be found.  I'm concentrating on the Pre-400 A.D. era via the Argos search engine.  Enjoy.  I would have never believed two weeks ago that this would turn out to be as interesting as it is.

(Oh, yes, if anyone has time, it'd be nice to find some PUBLIC DOMAIN gif files, especially colored maps of the various regions and countries, that could be added to the web site.  I don't have the time to do the actual searching, or conversion from .doc to .gif file process, but will download the already ready file and place it at the web site if someone gives me the URL where it's located.)

  City, State, Country

Mon, 4 May 1998 12:23:59

Westfall Stephen

U. of Marburg, Germany

COMMENTS:  The name Cyriacus/-kus was quite common in many villages throughout northern Hessen , the area my ancestors came from.  Local naming customs, children were usually named after relatives or unrelated villagers, were responsible that the name always was in use, as long as these naming customs prevailed.  In some villages or families up to the 1930s or so.

Although most villages in the area are and have been Protestant since the Reformation, names of saints sometimes were used.  Cyriacus happens to be one of these.

How your family obtained that name is hard to say, since most surnames became established in times when no records were kept or of which none have survived.  The genitive ending "-s" seems to indicate that one of your ancestors was a son of Cyriacus and for some reason this became the name for the whole family and all descendants.

By the way, there is a village not far from where I live called Cyriaxweimar.

  City, State, Country URL to your web site

5 May 1998

Ben Ciriacks

Milwaukee, WI

Ben.Ciriacks.com

So, as has probably happened dozens (2001=?thousands?) of times over the past two millennium, another 'branch' of our VAST family was begun - with a major impact.  As it turns out, my great grandfather, Hinrich Cyriacks, has more than 400 (2001=500) descendants, making the Wisconsin Ciriacks both uniquely identifiable and the largest of the dozen branches in the USA - almost all of which have been traced, back to a common ancestor born in the 17th century.

 

Sun, 03 May 1998 14:58:06

Ben Ciriacks (To: John Ciriacks)

COMMENTS:  ... Will be more than happy to add information when received but am really hoping that we find at least one family member interested in each of the various personages, especially those fluent in the languages containing most of the relevant research, to be able to take them on as their own project.  Anyone can E-Mail me their text, in HTML or ASCII format, and I'll upload it.

Think it would be great for each family, or more specifically, each family member who is interested in maintaining it, to establish their own Web site and pages. ...

Most of the time involved in any web site is spent during the creation process.  In our case, that was merely in typing the ... separate files making up the English, German, St. Cyriacus and Ciriaco De' Pizzicoli pages.  Once that information is created, it's a fairly simple process to convert it to HTML format for uploading to the site.

...  Am more than willing to help others get going or even upload what they have on my site until it gets too full BUT THEY will have to do the initial typing and send it to me as an E-MAIL, preferably in HTML format.  I'll edit it for TITLE LINES, underlining, background color and whatever, UNLESS IT'S SENT already HTML formatted and the accompanying text indicates to upload it AS IS.  ...

One can get an idea of how I did it by downloading any page, C?X.HTM (or C?X.HTML for those using 4 digit extensions) and look at the code.  It's very simple and basic without frames, graphics, fancy coloring or whatever.  All that's nice but requires a lot more effort ... and makes editing the text portion of the original document a lot harder.

Well, let me know what gives.  Send me material to upload or request specific help about what's needed to upload and maintain your (each CC: addressee included) own web site and I'll do what I can as soon as possible.  (..., it's not very difficult for hackers or others with knowledge about computers and web sites to get access to any hidden site - so don't anyone think these are REAL secure sites.  They aren't and, therefore, shouldn't contain anything anyone doesn't want the whole [internet] world to know about.)

Signing off at 14:56 CST, Milwaukee, Ben.

  City, State, Country Email address

Sat, 02 May 1998 08:56:47

John Ciriacks (To:  Ben Ciriacks)

Neenah, WI, USA

COMMENTS:  ... stories are a good way to keep an updated version of what we know. After May 13 ..., I'll email you more about Ciriaco of Ancona (1391-1452?). He met Albrecht Durer of Nuremberg ...  sparked my interest in Durer, whose delightful home/workshop in the old section of Nuremberg Bob and i toured last July ...

Re: St. Cyriacus, I asked Patrick Pondl to look up in German books when he is home about this saint, ...

Sun, 03 May 1998 11:11:39:  What you do think of starting a page like the Cyriacks/etc. of Etelsen/Baden, Germany/USA ...? Also for the Theriault family of ...?

 

Tue, 24 Feb 1998 11:04:19

Ben Ciriacks (To: John Ciriacks)

COMMENTS:  Thanks for the updated Email address list.  Here's some more found within the Compuserve membership.  Though the direct link hasn't been found between the Ciriacks/Cyriacks from the Bremen area and the Cyriax, Ciriack, Cyriak/Cyriaks, Cyriacus/Cyriakus, Cyriaque/Cyriac and Ciriaco of various other parts of Europe, I'm almost 95% sure we're distantly related through the origins in Greece to Italy to Germany and from Greece, Italy and Germany to France, the UK & United States and the rest of the world.  ...

Internet (USA) telephone book searches:

There are 40 Ciriacks and 1 Ciriack ... found in these 11 states:

AZ=1 CA=1 CO=2 CT=1 FL=1 IL=2 KS=1 MN=2 NM=2 NY=1 WI=27

As for Cyriacks, there are 28 in these 13 states:

AK=1 CA=3 CO=1 FL=2 HI=1 KS=1 MN=5 NE=5 NJ=2 NY=4 OK=1 SD=1 WV=1

The 13 Cyriax are reflected in these 7 states:

AZ=2 FL=1 MI=2 NJ=4 BY=2 VA=1 WA=1

30 Ciriaco in:

AZ=1 CA=4 CO=1 FL=1 MD=1 NJ=4 NY=1=2 OH=3 OK=1 TX=1 VA=1

3 Cyriacus: 0 Cyriaks 0 Cyriakus ?? Cyriak(NeedToSearch)

CA=1 NJ=2

  City, State

March 24, 1976

Don & Ruth Cyriacks

Cypress, CA

COMMENTS:  Dear John, Nancy, and children,

[ The body of this letter has been moved to the pictures & letters section of our Hollywood Fred web page. ]

  City, State

March 8, 1971

John Ciriacks

Neenah, WI

COMMENTS:  Dear Harold, Ruth and Family,

[ The body of this letter has been moved to the pictures & letters section of our Hollywood Fred web page. ]

  City, State

Feb. 28, 1971

Harold J. Cyriacks

Arcadia, Calif. 91006

COMMENTS:  Dear John:

[ The body of this letter has been moved to the pictures & letters section of our Hollywood Fred web page. ]

  City, State

August 17, 1970

John A. Ciriacks

Neenah, WI

COMMENTS:  To:  Los Angeles Country Clerk
        RE:  Estate of Fred Cyriacks

[ The body of this letter has been moved to the pictures & letters section of our Hollywood Fred web page. ]

  City, State, Country

December 19, 1966

Edna M. Ciriacks

Milwaukee, WI, USA

COMMENTS:  The last paragraph of a letter sent in late 1966 was the real beginning of all the genealogical efforts accomplished on both the and Terriau family names.  It indicates the nascent thoughts regarding genealogical research that eventually resulted in the family picnics in West Bend, Wisconsin.

At Edna'a telephoning, urging and organizing, the first of those picnics was in 1969 at the old covered bridge park in Jackson.  (The picture shows Ben, Jack & Nancy's oldest daughter Lynne and Grandpa Al.)
    The second, slightly larger reunion among a dozen or so participants, was on Saturday, September 6th, 1969, also in Jackson, at Uncle Pete's artesian lake picnic area at the intersection of highways 60 & 45 - we called him Uncle Pete but he was really our 2nd cousin once removed.  Both of those first two reunions were fairly small in attendance but large in impact upon the creation of a record of our family history.  {Nannette's future husband Chuck came to the latter reunion - he having just met her the previous evening at Octoberfest at the Bavarian Wursthaus in Milwaukee -- she telling him about the reunion but then not showing up herself.)  The 2nd reunion had the old wooden trunk with the spelling:

guestbook ( 1 2 3 4 names) • Home (Secular & Christian) • 

Website link/location/URL: http://Guestbook.Cyriac-FHP.com or http://www.Cyriac-FHP.com/guestbk1.htm or http://www.Jamrent.com/c/guestbk1.htm